


hold on to the memories (they will hold on to you)

by hearden



Series: ranger lovefest [13]
Category: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Power Rangers, Power Rangers Ninja Steel, Power Rangers Turbo, Power Rangers Zeo
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-07-02 02:18:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15786918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hearden/pseuds/hearden
Summary: It's a kiss that's been building for almost twenty years.(aka a tommykat love story in backwards order)





	hold on to the memories (they will hold on to you)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kathillards](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kathillards/gifts).



> for pearl: bc i know u love kat and in honor of tommykat lovefest, i present to u soft tommykat AND taylor swift even tho this slightly turned out more kat-centric than anything else
> 
> i tried to work in australian spelling bc kat's pov but i'm,,, decidedly not australian so Whatever

_Don't read the last page_

_But I stay when it's hard or it's wrong_

_Or we're making mistakes_

 

-

 

After, the Ninja Steel Rangers invite them to the Romeros' house for a dinner that consists of a lot of takeout and that ends up being had in the backyard because there's not enough room for everyone in the house itself. Kat raises an eyebrow at the car in the driveway, but Brody waves his hand and says his dad knows and that Preston does have a bigger place that can easily accommodate everyone, but then they'd have to explain what they're doing with so many… adults.

Kat's spent plenty of time around teens with teaching and the studio, but it's only for so long. She sees girls constantly but with the schedule she's always on, there's little room to see them like this -- Calvin and Hayley curled up together in a lawn chair, her head tucked under his chin and every few minutes, he shifts so that his lips brush against her hair in the whisper of a kiss; Preston showing Rocky several magic tricks at a time, distracting him all too easily with a card trick that morphs into him pulling a quarter out from behind Rocky's ear that Preston had "lost" half an hour ago; Levi strumming at his guitar and humming a tune that she can just barely hear the other five humming as well, even though they're all too spread out around the campfire to properly hear each other.

The party dies down once Wes, Gemma, and Koda have to leave for a variety of reasons, the most prominent one being, well, different universes, and then everyone moves back inside since it's getting dark and it's just her and Tommy and the kids as Calvin and Hayley banter over which Vine compilations to throw up on the Romeros' TV. Kat throws her head back and laughs harder than she remembers laughing in a long while when all six of the kids shout "I sure hope it does!" loud enough to startle Dane into dropping a plate in the kitchen; Tommy stifles a chuckle behind his hand, his eyes crinkling. Older, different, but still the same.

She feels it again, and that's her cue to leave.

"I should get going," she says, getting up from the sofa, much to Sarah's disappointment as she no longer has someone to cuddle with.

Dejectedly, Sarah just lets herself fall onto the couch, her head hitting the armrest. "Ow," she groans, her voice muffled.

Tommy clears his throat and stands as well, steps over Levi's legs hiked up on the coffee table, says, too, "I'll walk you out."

She glances at him for a moment then looks away before she can let herself read too much into whatever she thinks she saw in his eyes.

The two of them say goodbye to the Rangers, tell them to give either of them a call if they're in Reefside or-- well, Kat highly doubts any of them would just randomly be in London anytime soon, given school and money, but she makes the offer anyway because it's the usual. Thanks Dane for offering out his home, keep waving as they walk down the driveway until the Romeros' door closes behind them.

Tommy walks them to his Jeep, still the same jet black one Kira had told her about when she visited her on Tanya's tour a few years ago. There's a dent on the back, next to the spare tyre. Kat traces her fingers over it. "Fender bender?" she asks to break the ice, "Or Ranger stuff?"

He chuckles, plays with the material of his jacket between his thumb and forefinger. "Ranger stuff. There was a… I don't know, it'd be too weird to explain."

"Did you really just say something would be too weird to explain?" She laughs and raises her eyebrows. "Tommy Oliver hitting his limit?"

"Ehhh." Tommy makes an awkward noise in his throat and shrugs. "There was a guy we faced in Reefside who had a grudge on me… and then he… had a son? I don't really know if I understood it after it was over. But, like, the son ran into my car."

"He… straight into your car?"

"Like at sixty miles an hour or something. Really fast. I'm positive he was part-robot. The T-rex was a robot, too."

She squints at him in confusion. "Wh-- what T-rex?"

"Hayley didn't tell you?"

"Do you think we just… talk about Power Rangers when we see each other?"

"Maybe that's just me," he mumbles, "Anyway, there was a… giant T-rex. It _also_ ran into the back of my car. So, yeah."

Kat shakes her head. "Your luck never fails to amuse me."

"Haha, laugh it up all you want." Tommy rolls his eyes and taps his hand on the passenger door. "Do you… need a ride to the airport or… something?"

"No, I'm good," Kat says, softly, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her communicator. She holds it up, and it glints, even in the moonlight. Tommy's eyes widen for a second in surprise -- maybe that she still has one or that it still works. "I've got it covered."

"Huh," he breathes, "Mine's gone. Lost it when, uh, my lab went down. Before Dino Thunder."

Of course he would.

"It still works?"

Kat chuckles. "I'm about to find out. If not, maybe I'll just sit around and wait for the next cosmic event to just steal me away from my breakfast." She latches the communicator around her wrist, the metal unsurprisingly warm from being in her pocket, her finger lingering over the button, Tommy silently watching her in anticipation. But, she thinks for a moment too long then sighs and lets her arms drop back down to her side.

"What?" Tommy asks, curiously.

She shakes her head, mentally chiding herself. This feels like she's a schoolgirl all over again, but. "No red?" she asks, instead of answering him, nodding at his clothes.

"What?" he repeats in a different tone, perplexed, then glances down at his clothes, remembers what he's wearing, "Oh, uh, I don't know." His eyes flicker down to her lips for just a second, and she catches him doing it.

She moves first, one hand pulling him closer by the hem of his jacket, the other on the back of his neck, bringing him down for a kiss that's a little too warm and humid like the air tonight. He steadies himself with hesitant hands that take a moment to drift to her hips as his back hits the spare tyre and he grumbles. "Sorry," she murmurs when they break apart and brings her thumb up to wipe off some of her red lipstick that'd gotten onto his mouth.

"For what?"

Kat shakes her head, her mind already moving on. "I think… it's late, I think I'll book a flight tomorrow morning."

It takes him a moment, and she kind of wishes Adam or Jason or Tanya were there to give him a push forward like old times. "Do you, uh, do you wanna spend the night? Reefside's only about… two and a half hours if I… bend the speed limit. Three if I don't."

"Three's fine, we can talk on the way," she says and gives him a kiss on the cheek, careful to not get her lipstick on him again, then runs a hand along his jawline, "Glad you got rid of that goatee."

He frowns. "I hate talking." Then, as she walks over to the passenger side, he calls out, offended, "Hey!"

Kat's still giggling to herself when Tommy gets in the driver's seat, shaking his head at her, and starts up the engine. It's not until they stop at a McDonald's drive-thru halfway to get some late night food that she answers his question, fidgeting with his hand in hers as he rolls around to the pick-up window.

"I'm sorry for waiting too long," she says, softly.

He knows what she's talking about without asking what she's answering. "That's alright," he replies with a shrug then brings their hands up and kisses the back of hers, "We have all the time in the world."

 

-

 

Turbo isn't her first choice because it just feels different, but she understands why she has to fall back on it. Kimberly still has their original powers from the Armada, and it's too risky to try Zeo when it's too much power held to a limit. Turbo often feels fast, wild, pushing her heart to beat faster as the adrenaline courses through her veins from the morph if she hasn't done it in awhile, much like speeding down an empty motorway at two in the morning would feel; it's not that she doesn't mind it, but it'd be nice if it could feel like having the top down of a car while coming up to a fast food joint late at night, instead, a soft breeze instead of a loud, roaring wind.

Kat shakes off her thoughts and glances at Wes on her left, always taking lead because he's red. Tommy is on his left, a black t-shirt underneath an olive green jacket, his gold morpher in his hands. He catches her eyes for just a moment.

Then, Wes asks, "Ready?"

She straightens up. "Ready," falls from her lips, natural, easy, just like the first time.

 

-

 

Rocky texts her that something is up -- the new team needs help -- and before she can respond, she feels the teleportation kicking in, just as it had two years ago.

Lauren and Mia set a date for their wedding, and Justin makes a joke about a pink and red year before she can.

Jason and Kimberly announce their engagement.

Jake impatiently asks if there are even Power Rangers anymore since there hasn't been a team for two whole years now, and the next day, the new team makes national news and he spams the chat with an "AHHHHHHHHHHHH" that's ten lines long.

There's silence for a long time after everyone, presumably, gets back home, and then Dax breaks the silence by typing, _So… that just happened._

 

-

 

Zeo feels good on her again, electricity crackling underneath her skin, the energy of millennia building and building upon itself. The morph had shocked her breathless, and she'd immediately grabbed onto Tanya for support, her vision filling with stars for a second. "Zordon had said it gets stronger over time," Adam explains from somewhere beyond her periphery, his voice sounding a little strained, "The crystal, I mean. And we haven't used it for awhile."

Awhile is a little bit of an understatement.

"Just takes some time getting used to," she says, straightening herself out then pulls Adam into a hug, their helmets awkwardly bumping together, "It's been a long time."

"Good to see you, too, Kat," he chuckles, "Duty calls, though."

And it does.

She feels weird without Tommy standing next to her, the spot between her and Tanya noticeably absent, but there's only one of him, understandably, and he's missing from more than just this team. It's a useless thing to feel anxiety over, but her heart calms when she's just far enough in the crowd of Rangers to not be immediately seen and close enough to see Tommy take off his green helmet to talk to the Megaforce Rangers.

Kat's glad her helmet is on because she bites down on her lip to stop a chuckle from escaping. So _that's_ the goatee Kira had been telling her about.

 

-

 

The chat moves so fast that the app crashes on Kat's phone every time she tries to pull it up when news gets out of a female red on the Samurai team, so she has to text Kira to get the name: Lauren.

She messages Tommy for some reason -- maybe because he's red and she's interested in hearing his thoughts. Maybe because she wants to hear from him.

_Hey. Did you hear the news?_

He texts back, _Who didn't? I don't even know how they're still crashing the chat. Nobody should be able to get in at this point._

_What do you think?_

_About…?_

_Lauren._

_She seems nice._

_Female red._

_Yeah, that's super cool._

_Super Samurai cool?_

_Haha, real funny, Kat._

_I try._

 

-

 

She feels lonelier after hearing about Adam's new team yet not having a minute to spare to go visit him, and by the time she does, the Overdrive Rangers are back in the game and the other team has gone back to their own lives.

Kat goes on vacation later that year and goes to Ocean Bluff. It's natural that she heads to Jungle Karma Pizza, not that she knows exactly that that's where the new team is, but it's her gut instinct telling her, her Ranger intuition of sorts.

A blonde with a bright smile, whose name tag says _Lily,_ gets ready her order, and Kat's hardly opened her mouth when she hears a beep that's too suspicious, too coincidental considering the city she's in, to just be a phone ringtone. Lily's eyes widen, and she quickly glances at the door leading to the kitchen where two boys, one with brown hair and one with black hair, hastily scramble out, throwing their aprons at a frazzled girl at the counter who looks like this isn't the first time they've done this.

"C'mon, Lily!" the boy with brown hair calls out over his shoulder as he runs out the door.

Lily looks at Kat. "Uh--" she starts.

Kat cuts her off with a gentle smile, her own communicator feeling like it's burning a hole in her pocket. She carries it around with her everywhere, now. Just in case. "Go," she says, softly, "They need you."

That gets her a pause, and Lily stares at her for a moment then turns to the girl at the counter, "Fran!" She doesn't even have to say more than that and the girl quickly walks over, taking Lily's pad and pen from her. "Fran here will take care of you," Lily hastily says, flashing Kat an apologetic smile, then she's out the door, too.

Fran purses her lips. "They do that a lot," she says to Kat, shrugging.

Laughing, Kat shakes her head and waves a hand. "No, it's okay. I was like that once, too." At Fran's perplexed look, she elaborates with a casual, "You know, a teenager."

Fran still looks a bit dubious. "Right."

 

-

 

The thing is that she has to hear about Tommy becoming a doctor from someone else, and not even that, but someone from another team -- _Tommy's_ new team.

She sees that Tommy adds four new people to the ever-growing group chat -- Conner McKnight, Ethan James, Kira Ford, and Trent Fernandez. Later that same night, she gets a message from Kira.

_hey, ur katherine, right?_

_Yep, that's me._

_u were on dr. o's team? he has old pictures of u guys in his office._

Kat pauses, stares at that message for a little longer than necessary. Whispers to herself, incredulously, "What?"

_Dr. O?_

_yeah? u know, tommy. i mean, i'm not supposed to call him that._

_He's… a doctor now? Of what?_

_paleontology… like fossils. old stuff. appropriate._

_Ah, the dinosaurs make more sense now. Wait. Why is that appropriate?_

_bc he's a fossil lol_

Despite the fact that she's the same age as him, Kat snorts then mutters, "Excuse you, we're not even thirty yet."

_He's not even thirty yet! And neither am I._

_i never said YOU were a fossil!!! ur cool_

"I _am_ cool," she murmurs to herself then pauses and looks up around her bedroom, glad that she lives alone in her flat. That definitely was not a "cool" moment.

_anyway dr. o said u lived in london last he knew. do u still live there? if so, it's getting late. i should let u sleep._

It is late, but Kat lets herself get caught up too much on that sentence -- last Tommy had known. Last she'd known, he was going off to college and had a wild idea of going into professional racing -- not headed for a _doctorate._ Sighing to herself, Kat types off one last message to Kira.

_Yeah, it is getting late. Tell him I said congrats on the doctorate. Goodnight x_

_will do & night! _

 

-

 

It takes awhile, but once one of the full-time instructors moves back to the States, Kat gets offered the position, and she happily accepts. She doesn't tell the group chat but rather just Adam and Tanya because she's closest to them, even when they're two of the furthest away, Tanya always moving if she's on tour and Adam back in Angel Grove. They send their congratulations, and that's it. This is their team now, no longer kids, no longer down the street from each other or just a communicator beep away.

That night, Kat rummages through her drawers, panicking when she can't find it underneath her sweaters or pants or even in her sock drawer, and it's when she's going through old clothes, shaking a hoodie with the words _Angel Grove High School Class of 1997_ across the front out of frustration, that something falls to the ground out of the pocket and _thumps_ on the carpet of her closet.

She's so glad she lives alone because a choked sob escapes as she immediately drops the hoodie and picks up the communicator, glinting metallic silver in the light of the bulb hanging overhead. It's stupid, stupid, stupid, but she holds it to her lips, gives it a kiss for the life she no longer has, and cries.

 

-

 

It doesn't make national news because, well, it's on the moon and the public isn't aware of it, but it's all over the group chat when she wakes that morning -- the reds teaming up with the current red to take down Serpentera. There's snarky, teasing remarks about reds always going off on their own, the normal ragging and joking, but Kat keeps herself out of it.

She kind of wishes it'd been here on Earth so that she could turn on her TV and see Tommy in his Zeo colors again.

 

-

 

Graduation doesn't feel as good as it should. She has friends at university, undoubtedly, but she can't help but think of yellow robes and a valedictorian speech and passing on the torch. New paths, new changes, different directions, different desires.

Kat sighs to herself, hangs up her robes in her closet next to her high school ones, where they sit next to an _Angel Grove Class of 1997_ hoodie that she hasn't touched in years and has no reason to touch now.

 

-

 

Living in London is hard. She hears about things from others because most of the Rangers are in the States, and most of the time, the news is hours late because it'll happen as she's asleep and she'll wake up to the massive group chat overflowing with dozens, sometimes hundreds of messages, or a news report that's running for the third time that day in the States but the first time for her overseas.

Her congratulations are always late, never on time, so sometimes she just ignores it and pretends she doesn't see it. In a group chat of dozens of Rangers, it's hard to keep up with who said what and who hit the like button on what message, so it doesn't keep her up at night to let some things pass her by. Not like they don't pass her by already with how far away she is.

 

-

 

Everyone sees her off at the airport, and it's the last time they'll wear their colors, Kat knows it without asking, without saying. She hugs Tanya first because she's closest, promises to call but knows Tanya will be busy because of the record deal, presumably; gently hugs Rocky, careful to mind his back, then shrieks when he turns the hug into giving her a noogie; hugs Justin and ruffles his hair, making him frown and grumble, but he hesitates to let go of her hand when she moves onto the next person; hugs Adam after and gives him a warm smile that he returns; hugs Jason but lets out a yelp when he squeezes her too hard then laughs, heartily, his chest rumbling, and she pouts at him.

Then, Tommy, and she's sure he's almost going to go in for something awkward like a handshake, but he opens his arms for a hug, kinda nervously, and she wraps her arms around his waist, anxiously counting how many seconds it's okay to be in the hug before letting go.

She forces a smile, just like he does, when they pull apart. The air is tense, and she can feel everyone else's eyes on them, too. When she glances over, though, the other five are pointedly not looking at her and Tommy, but she knows they just were.

"Have a safe flight," Tommy murmurs.

She nods, feels her chest fluttering uncomfortably that'll take some water and pretzels on the flight to calm down. "Thanks."

 

-

 

Kat doesn't quite know who broke up with whom. It happens so randomly, so out of the blue, so unplanned, but it'd been coming. She had felt it. The five of them head out to the beach for a day to relax, probably one of their last together for a long time since she's flying out to London in a week and a half.

Tanya, Adam, Justin, and Jason who's in town for a few weeks to visit Rocky with Kimberly are playing a game of volleyball, Justin shouting every time Jason steps in and grabs his hits all in good fun because his arms have better reach.

She's sitting alone on her pink beach towel, wearing an oversized _Angel Grove Class of 1997_ hoodie that covers her short shorts, because she thinks she might hate herself and there's no telling if it'd hurt worse to be sitting here or playing with the others when she knows they all have to split apart soon.

Tommy sits down next to her, and she scoots over a bit on her towel without him prompting her to.

"Hey," he says, quietly, and she knows it from his voice alone what's coming next.

"Hey," she says back, drawing her knees up to her chest. Her hair is down today, and a cool breeze blows a few strands into her eyes. She tucks them behind her ear.

"So, um," Tommy starts, turning to her, and she catches his gaze, apologetic before he's even started speaking, and that is how it ends.

 

-

 

She shouldn't be freaking out so much over this. It's not like it's her first date ever, but it's Tommy and-- oh, well, it _is_ Tommy. But, it's also a dinner and a night on the town and Kat has always worried over anything and everything.

It's only when she's finished applying a light coat of soft red lipstick that she pauses, examining herself in the mirror. Is lipstick too much? Yes? No? Kat lets out a distressed noise from the back of her throat and then, faintly, she hears the doorbell ring. Oh. Oh, no. He's early. How is he early? He's never--

"Kat!" her mum calls from downstairs, "Tommy's here!"

"Oh, my _God,_ " she whispers to herself. God, she's going to tell the Rangers the story of a lifetime tomorrow -- Tommy Oliver was _early_ to something for once. Jason might just fall over and die on the spot.

Deciding that the lipstick is fine and it works with her skin and it's not like Tommy's going to be analyzing how she looks half as much as she currently is _and_ it's not like she's dressing for him, Kat scrambles downstairs, tugging at the hem of her dress.

He's there, nervously sitting on her sofa, and gives her parents a polite smile before walking her out the door. "I'll have her back before ten," he promises then closes the door behind them.

When they're out on her driveway, he looks at her, tilts his head, smiles like he's in awe of her. "You look beautiful."

So this is what feeling like a schoolgirl is like. Kat blushes, ducking her head and licking her lips as her heart flutters. "You don't look too shabby yourself," she teases and leans up, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. A smudge of her lipstick comes off on his cheek, and she sheepishly wipes it away with her thumb. "Oops, sorry, hold still."

Tommy chuckles. "It's fine."

"My curfew's eleven," Kat comments, smiling a little, and he shrugs.

"Better safe than sorry, right?"

"Well, I just wanted to make sure you know we have plenty of time," she says, "It's only half past six."

He takes her hand, shakes his head like her words don't mean anything. "Kat, we have all the time in the world."

 

-

 

_I want your midnights_

_But I'll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year's Day_

**Author's Note:**

> title from New Year's Day - Taylor Swift


End file.
